


A Regular Joe

by Jerry_Larchive



Category: Grey's Anatomy
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-13
Updated: 2017-05-13
Packaged: 2018-10-31 04:28:46
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,033
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10891701
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jerry_Larchive/pseuds/Jerry_Larchive
Summary: A OS chat with Joe Kepner reveals a few surprises about him and his relationship with his ex son-in-law.





	A Regular Joe

**Author's Note:**

> We don't know a lot about April's father. We got a good dose of her mother though. I like to think her father has a different relationship with her.

Just put this on the list of things I will never ever admit to, along with how often I wish my wife would dial back the religious fervor, and how irritated I get with Kimmie, and how much I wish I had sowed a few more wild oats before I had settled down. I like Jackson. There, I said it. Just don't repeat it.

I know that's a big fat no go here in the Kepner household but, damn it, I liked him the first time I met him and I haven't seen any reason to change my mind.

Yes, of course I know he divorced April and it broke her heart. But, like I told her, you can't expect a guy to wait around forever while you go running off to take care of yourself. He's right, that's not the way marriage is supposed to work. And I thought we taught April better about that.

Oh yeah, Karen would be fit to be tied if she heard me saying that. But it's true. And Karen never did take a shine to the young man. Right from the beginning she's been critical of his beliefs, or rather lack of them, his privileged background, and even his style of dressing. Criminy! So he showed up here a little overdressed for a hog farm. Big deal! The pigs didn't care. Besides, he'd never set foot on a farm before so it was up to April to advise him a little bit.

Now don't get me wrong. I'm not saying April was at fault for everything that happened. There's plenty of blame to go around in that situation. But I'm not sure I would have done anything different if we had lost a babe and Karen had left me to deal with it alone.

But April is April so there's no predicting what she'll do or how she will react to a situation, especially one like that. She's a good girl, and she's always taken after her mother when it comes to her faith. I sometimes think she would have been better off following my path that way. Not that I lack for the spirit. But I prefer to keep things understated. I have a little mistrust of Christians that throw their faith around like a prize pig. I know we're supposed to evangelize and all but getting in everyones grill with a holier than thou seems likely to do more harm than good. But I don't think April really does that either so maybe she is more like me than I thought. Or, more likely she is a combination of her mother's strong faith and my way of expressing it. Hell, I raise hogs. What the hell do I know?

Anyway, back to my original point. I like Jackson. I remember when we met them at the airport. There seemed to be some tension between them when they first got off the plane. Not sure what that was about. But by the time we got to the farm it seemed to have evaporated. And I could tell by the way he looked at her that he loved her. What more does a father want for his daughter than a husband that loves her? And though Karen may beg to differ, I don't mind that he comes from money. I want my little girls with men that can take care of them. Not that April needs much. That's us right there in how thrifty she is. Can't figure how Kimmie missed that gene.

Damn right I'm hard on Kimmie. She's always been a hard one for me to figure. Always had her mother wrapped around her finger. Right from the gitgo, Kimmie was off running around the countryside while April was made to stay home and do chores. And it was Kimmie who started that damn Ducky crap. And I was late putting a stop to it and Karen took it up and it stuck. Poor April. I should have bit the bullet and stomped that down, Karen or not. I've always been a believer in picking my battles but that was one I regret dodging. And April paid the price.

Is April my favorite? You trying to get me strung up? Just between the two of us? So I'll say this, that girl saves lives my friend. Every day. And she got where she is without a lot of help from anyone. And she's a great mother too. So I will say I am damn proud of her. She's got more heart than … Let's just leave it at I'm proud as hell of her.

And like I said, April has made some mistakes. Going to Jordan is one, no matter her reasons. But her heart has always been in the right place.

Do I know her reasons for Jordan? No, I don't. We talk but she doesn't tell anyone everything she's thinking or feeling, especially since she lost Sam. Yeah, I guess I am the only person who calls him Sam. Why? You're going to think it's kooky. Sometimes I like to pretend that he lived. I picture him visiting us with April and Jackson and Harriet. I picture him running around here like a bat out of hell. Farm's a perfect place for a boy to run like that. And I would have taught him about pigs. And how to fish and shoot. And I would've called him Sam or Sammie and he would have called me Granpa. Yeah, I like to think of that sometimes.

What? No, I'm OK. Lot of allergies this time of year is all.

So where was I? Oh, yeah, that first visit. I thought Jackson stood up pretty well considering how different this all is to what he is used to. And April was nervous as hell about us liking him. I guess that was to be expected since our only other contact with him was him running out of the farmhouse with her. Ha! I still gotta laugh a little at that. What? No, Karen was mad as a hornet about that thing. She thought Matt was the second coming. There's no convincing her that Jackson didn't ruin her daughter's life by taking her away that day. And later, when she tried to tell me that Sam dying was God's punishment I really lit into her. It was probably the maddest I've ever been. She of all people should have known better than that. Did I feel the same way about April choosing Jackson over Matt? Hell, no! I mean I liked the guy well enough and I'm sure he would have tried really hard to make April happy but, I mean, it always would have been that. It would have been Matthew trying and trying to be that guy for her but he had no chance. Why do I say that? So maybe I'm just a hopeless romantic but I think Jackson is that guy. And I think April knows it. And that's why she ran out that door that day. And even with everything that's happened, I don't think she'll ever regret it for even a minute. And keep in mind that I say that even though I'm still paying off some of the bills from that day. Giving me four daughter's was God's joke on my wallet.

Do I sound like I want April and Jackson back together? Yeah, I guess it does sound like that. Sure, I think it would be great if they work everything out and get back together. But only if they are ready to really make it work. I mean, I'd love for Harriet to grow up with her parents together.

No, by together, I do not mean this co-habiting or co-parenting or whatever the hell it is they are doing at the moment. If they still love each other as much as I think they do, they should be married and making a life together. And if they aren't going to do it, then they probably shouldn't be living together because that's a mess waiting to happen if you ask me.

What makes me think Jackson still loves her? Ah, you're catching on to one of my secrets. So, again, say anything about this to anyone and I'll call you a liar. I'll have to ask Jesus to forgive me afterwards but I'll do it anyway. Every once in awhile Jackson calls yours truly for a little heart to heart. Ha, I can see that got you. Thats another thing that happened on that first trip out here.

By the third day I could see Jackson was withering under Karen and the girls constant pressure. And poor April was just making it worse by pushing him to somehow make us like him more. I pitied the poor guy so I pulled him out and took him shooting clays just to give him a breather and give me a chance to size him up a little without Karen breathing down both our necks.

So we went out to the range and bought a box of targets and spent a couple of hours launching them up and shooting them down. Even though he'd never fired a gun before, he picked it up fast and by the time we got to the bottom of the box he was hitting more than he was missing. At first the conversation was all about the shotgun and the shooting but eventually he started talking about April and himself. I found out he had loved her for a long time and even asked her to marry him a year earlier though he was really vague about the circumstances around that misfire.

I also learned his father had left him and his mother very early in his life. So Jackson's life wasn't quite so privileged as we might have thought. For my part I told him a lot about April's life that he wasn't aware of. When we had knocked down our last clay I could see he wasn't anxious to go back to the house just yet so instead we went down to Three Cheers, on Main, to have a few beers and hide out for awhile longer.

He told me what he was most scared of, that he and April were so different that they might struggle to find some middle ground to walk down. I allowed for how that was true, that they did seem pretty different, but that at their cores, they shared enough common values, and that, along with love, would see them through.

He told me he appreciated that. And then I decided to take a chance on him. I told him that I thought he was a fine young man and that I was happy that April had chosen to follow her heart and marry him even though there would surely be tough times ahead. Of course I had no idea how tough those times would turn out to be.

And then Jackson surprised the hell out of me. He asked if he could call me if he ever needed to talk with somebody who knows April really well. I told him I would be happy and honored to have him call me and that I'd even try to be objective when it came to April. He smiled and said he really didn't think that would be possible but he didn't need me to be anyway.

So every couple of months I get a call from Jackson and we shoot the breeze. Sometimes we talk about April and sometimes we don't. Sometimes we talk about him. And we talk about his father. And sometimes we just talk about shotguns and shooting clays.

So when I tell you they still love each other, I know what I'm talking about. Where that will lead them, who knows? Meanwhile, I have some hopes about which way that will go. That's why I've been working on Karen for the last few months, subtly promoting Jackson around her. So if he ever does return here with my little girl, he'll get a better welcome from her too.

My girl deserves that chance at happiness.

 


End file.
